We have an update, folks.
Because they don’t even care about keeping their bullshit straight.
So the full sequence now runs:
(1) “The money isn’t missing, it’s all still there and ringfenced for a second indyref. Anyone who says otherwise is a loony conspiracy theorist.” (Feb 2020)
(2) “Okay, it’s not ringfenced, it’s woven in with everything else but it’s there and we will only spend it on a second indyref.” (Oct 2020)
(3) “We’ve still got all the money, even though it’s not in our bank account, and we’ve set up a special unit that’s going to spend it right now ‘on independence’, even though there’s no second indyref.” (Feb 2021)
(4) “Okay, the guy who was going to be in charge of spending it has quit in mysterious circumstances and the ‘independence unit’ doesn’t exist any more, and we’re not letting the treasurer look at the books to see where the money is so he’s resigned, but it’s all still there waiting for the imminent second indyref, honest.” (May 2021)
(5) “Okay, we’ve spent SOME of it but the rest is all still there, it’s just invisible and we can’t show it to you, though we could if we wanted to. The important thing is that there’s definitely none of it missing.” (Jun 2021)
(6) “Okay, we’ve spent about quarter of a million pounds of it now, despite there being no second indyref, although we can’t tell you what it was spent on, and there’s still absolutely loads left.” (Aug 2022)
(7) “There’s no missing money, we’ve still got it all. Sure, it’s not in the bank, but we’ve given ourselves an IOU or something and it’ll all magically appear when there’s a second indyref.” (Feb 2023)
(8) “Okay, we spent the lot, despite the continuing absence of a second indyref, but we can’t be any more specific about what on. Just, you know, general SNP stuff. Yes, the exact thing we swore we WOULDN’T spend it on.” (Jun 2026)
And now,
(9) “We couldn’t spend it because our chief executive stole it, despite all our strident denials that anything was missing, but if we get it back from him then we definitely will spend it – not on a second indyref, because there isn’t going to be one, but on SOMETHING, we just can’t say what, and frankly it’s pretty tasteless of you to ask because we’re victims of a crime, actually.” (Jun 2026)
Even when they think they’ve gotten clean away with it, lying about it is now so ingrained that they just can’t stop.
Maybe we should ask John Swinney to tell the story backwards. Because at worst, he couldn’t make very much more of a mess of it than he is now.
why is he only paying 400k back when 600k + went missing. Where’s the rest?
Indeed. It’s a question our “investigative” MSM seems to have overlooked. Online I’m getting SNP members simply wanting to “move on”. As well as claiming all the money came from SNP Members – even though we KNOW from the SNP’s own mouths it wasn’t.
Nope, I’m not moving on until all £667k has been accounted for and the rest of the crooks and Tractors (saving an Ed.) have been put on trial.
(So I guess I won’t be moving on this decade)
I wont be moving on until Nicola MI6 Sturgeon isin a cell
There is more than that missing since Murrel started his thievery before the ‘ring fenced’ donations were taken in.
Speaking as a chartered accountant: part of the problem is that the SNP accounts have not shown a detailed reserves note from around 2012 – either there have been no separate restricted funds, or they’ve been hiding that information (incredibly bad form). Although we know full well there should have been at least one restricted reserve – the Referendum fundraiser.
My hunch would be that finances have been mismanaged and they have indeed not ringfenced anything, referendum funds or orhterwise – they’ve just thrown it all into the same pot and Peter Murrell has helped himself.
I note, also that the 2024 accounts show the party as insolvent to the tune of £13,315. Or should that be £673,315, if the referendum fund were properly ringfenced in a separate reserve.
A big boy stole it, mysteriously unknown to us he gave it back, then stole it again, and then, I’m confused, what was this about again…
same old same old bunch of lying fuds.
Murrell was stealing before the Indyref fund was set up.
Brilliant
I’ll tell you what l want. What I really, really want.
STURGEON
For all her betrayals, broken promises and lies.
And that is why you will never get her. It’s a protection racket. The racket collapses when it fails to protect one of the members. It’s the same problem they have with Prince Andrew.
Honestly…you couldn’t make this shit up!
Well, in saying that, it appears that the SNP are quite capable of making up all sorts of shit more or less all of the time.
In fact, going back to Salmond’s trial, they seem to think they’re experts at making shit up and it’s everybody else’s fault when nobody believes them.
The only outstanding question which needs some form of resolution is…
Is the SNP as a collective demonstrating:
a) Compulsive lying
b) Pathological lying
c) Delusional behaviours
In any event, if ever a political party needed a straight jacket and a time-out in a padded cell it’s the SNP.
All of the above?
Maybe we should just cut the crap and give the SNP a collective lobotomy, after all if we stick ’em in the rubber room we’d have to let them out sometime.
How about the money has been in Ginger Bottle Deposits the whole time?
Time to stop digging that hole they are in.
My personal favourite has to be Beattie’s “woven through the accounts” bull.
Can’t decide whether that reflects his stupidity or sheer contempt for the public.
I think it is an admission that the funds were used improperly.
The Electoral Commission might be taking note. Anyone know? The Commission could require funds to be repaid and/or legal action
I think “woven through the accounts” meant tied up in working capital.
Tied up in vehicles, cruet sets & other fancy goods, maybe…
has anyone explained why it wasn’t put into a separate ring fenced account from the beginning, if its gone straight into snp accounts surely then it implies that snp were always going to use it for the running of the snp own business
Because they could.
Isn’t that bloke about to be sentenced?
Hasn’t the media made a big point of banging on about how he’s going to pay back the money – and therefore he will get a lesser sentence because he has made “retribution”?
In this scam you don’t actually need to pay back the money. You just need the “victim” of your crime to say they have been “satisfied” for the stolen money.
In the real world a criminal would get zero credit in sentencing for saying “honest, I’ll pay it back later”. To get any credit he would need to have actually stumped up the real cash – with proof that it’s been paid back.
My guess is that the SNP will do some kind of dodgy deal (which will result in zero cash back – but some kind of “IOU” never to be enforced), and then tell the Court that it’s all good – the stolen money’s sorted out, you can give him a few weeks gardening duty at the local trans-awareness centre and all will be well.
Or maybe he’ll get the maximum time inside that he deserves.
Let’s see.
I think you mean ‘reparation’rather than ‘retribution’
I will be happy to see retribution on all concerned.
Are the Electoral Commission going to publish that all the accounts submitted from 2010-2022 are fraudulent and insist that the SNP produce new accurate accounts for publication?
Well done for holding them to account Stu!! Without you, they would get away with this fully. Now they are sweating like prince Andrew!
Really, they should have stuck to the Father Ted Defence: “Now Dougal, the money was just resting in my account!”
The psychodynamics of Scottish independence would seem important here, not least because colonialism ‘is based on psychology’ (Cesaire).
A key impact of the pathology associated with colonial oppression, the ‘colonial mindset’, is regarded as ‘a disease of the mind’ (Memmi). It may be hypothesized that a great many colonised people suffer from this condition.
Features include denial, distortion, repression, suppression, projection, and dissociation relating to the oppressive reality of the dominated group.
Fortunately we know the only remedy, which is the ending of colonisation (i.e. decolonisation) and liberation of the oppressed group, including necessarily self-recovery of native culture.
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
Was there no crime in Scotland before colonisation?
None which we could conveniently blame on others.
I’m fairly sure there would have been some parochial rape / murder / pillage on the Viking model. Although ‘hung; drawn and quartered ‘ seems to have been an Anglo fixation. La vice Anglaise d’autre
Prior to colonisation, thousands of Scots women practiced witchcraft.
At least, thousands of Scots women were dispatched in the most hideously cruel ways, following ludicrously delusional accusations that they were witches.
I’m not seeing any evidence that medieval Scotland was some kind of “just be kind” utopia compared to everywhere else. Although I am seeing evidence that the delusional thinking of our ancestors has survived intact into the 21st century.
HMcH
Fash not, Tricky Nicky gave an official apology so your ancestors can rest in peace.
Interesting that the worst of the prosecutors was Jimmy 6/1; avowed prod and Unionist..
Who’d a thunk they’d still be practising as late as your “items based” lineage to a laughable 1850. 🙂
Whit were they anyway? A broomstick, a cauldron and the stub of a one way ticket to Australia?
Jeezo, YL. Hoo mony times hae ye been telt? Dinna post onything afore the voices in yer heid kick in aroond 2 AM.
Are you there, Jay?
Jay??
Jay!!!
Weren’t those
witchwifie murderers merely acting under the direction of that Good Book® about which you have wanged exceedingly lyrical? 🙄“Good Book® about which you have wanged exceedingly lyrical”
Cheers, MH, it’s braw to read some appreciation of my efforts.
My point was that far from being some kind of exception, we Scots have the same history of medieval barbarism as everywhere else.
But I think you already know that 🙂
FFS, one of our founding documents, the Declaration Of Arbroath, boasts how we genocided the Picts!
I well mind as a child visiting the Well Of The Seven Heads at Loch Oich. When Lee Rigby was decapitated, I realised that behaviour that we believed had been left behind in the 17th century had now been re-introduced by the unthinking, progressive actions of our political masters.
As today’s main news story attests.
For the sake of shits’n’giggles…
Let us look at what that “quote” says…
“We’ll use the money for the purpose it was donated for”.
Now, is that person claiming that Murrell only stole the “ring fenced” funds and no others?
If so, how did the SNP identify the “ring fenced” funds from other general funds, if the “ring fenced” funds were indeed “woven through” the accounts?
The SNP is not a business, (pretty shit one if it were), except in the sense that it employs people and it “sells” an idea, which it seems decidedly unwilling and/or incapable of delivering.
Exclude sales of merchandise, interest, loans and Westminster, Holyrood and Local Authority sourced funding, and everything else the SNP has in its bank account is a “donation”.
Therefore to say you’ll “use the money for the purpose it was donated for” is about as woolly as a fat lamb, and strongly resembles the brown stuff that falls out aforementioned lamb’s rear end.
They can identify them; when I sent them 2 reference numbers for donations I made in 2017, they knew that one was for the referendum fund-raiser and the other for local elections.
So even if, as it seems, it all goes into their one and only bank account, they have records of who donated how much and for what.
(That applies to 2017, anyway; it’s possible they didn’t keep proper records all the time.)
Who’s best to tell us where the missing money is, then, Alf?
Cesaire, or Memmi?
You need to refer to fanny the financial commissar
I think either would have a fair to middling better chance of telling us, rather than our own Crown office that appears to have ignored over 200k of the missing monies.
As an ever-present btl commenter that wants to be shown the money, isn’t it about time you started ripping into yer monarchy serving institutes rather than attempting to distract Alf, who has shown you the money being wasted on the likes of the ferries.
The Left wing mindset begins with a lack of personal hygiene. An uncomfortable urge to stick your nose into everything and anything to support the cause.
This rhetoric of Bairds is giving support to the murder of British citizens.
With reference to Mr. Beggan’s reaction to Alf B (7:27, 9th June):
What is the definition of “Left wing”?
Is the concept of ‘hygiene’ applicable to human minds?
What relationship is intended, by Beggan, between the first and the second sentences in his comment?
What is the ‘cause’ to which reference is made? Alf is known for supporting the cause of Scottish Independence therefore it is reasonable to infer that M. Beggan is hostile to Scottish independence.
M. Beggan: do you support Scottish Independence?
Do you think that there is a risk that your ‘mindset’ has been conditioned by the colonial history of Scotland? If not, perhaps you are not a Scot!
What is the basis for suggesting that Alf gives any support for the murder of British citizens?
Why do you choose to use the term “British”?
Considering the terms of your comment, it is likely that you are a Unionist and with SNP standard integrity.
Alf says….
“A key impact of the pathology associated with colonial oppression, the ‘colonial mindset’, is regarded as ‘a disease of the mind’ (Memmi). It may be hypothesized that a great many colonised people suffer from this condition.
Features include denial, distortion, repression, suppression, projection, and dissociation relating to the oppressive reality of the dominated group.”
WOW ! I’m utterly astonished that Memmi diagnosed you so accurately,Alf !
Read your own posts; shite from beginning to end usually.
What a whopper.
What, compared to all the intellectual and insightful things you post James?
You are in NO position to criticise anyone.
Nobody writes as much shite as you Alfie Boy. What a talent you have!
Quite so, Alf. As Steve Biko said, “The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”
Quite right, Rob.
Every time you see somebody on the ground, getting the shit kicked out of them, you mind and tell them afterwards.
Assuming the paramedics will allow you in the ambulance.
I’ve just been reading about Louis D. Brandeis (1856-1941). What a fascinating life he led.
Who, you may ask?
Well, he’s the chap who, in 1913, authored the famous line about government transparency, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.”
I wonder if any of the 21st century SNP panjandrums who are so desperate to operate in darkness even know who he is?
One of history’s most often repeated mis-quotes.
He was, of course, referring to Sunlight soap, invented in 1884.
In 1918, Viscount Leverhulme bought Lewis, adding Harris to his collection in 1919. I guess they must have been sold back to Scotland since.
“Brandeis made his famous statement that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants” in a 1913 Harper’s Weekly article, entitled “What Publicity Can Do.” But it was an image that had been in his mind for decades. Twenty years earlier, in a letter to his fiancé, Brandeis had expressed an interest in writing a “a sort of companion piece” to his influential article on “The Right to Privacy,” but this time he would focus on “The Duty of Publicity.” He had been thinking, he wrote, “about the wickedness of people shielding wrongdoers & passing them off (or at least allowing them to pass themselves off) as honest men.” He then proposed a remedy:
If the broad light of day could be let in upon men’s actions, it would purify them as the sun disinfects.”
source – link to sunlightfoundation.com
Any accountants reading?
Perhaps you could work out the compound interest that would have accrued if the money had really been ring fenced.
Provide worst case figures (bunged in a building society savings account) and best case figures (invested in bitcoin and/or 1sraeli defence firm shares).
Any Trainspotting 2 fans reading?
Perhaps you can remember how the Ewan McGregor character gets thrashed to within an inch of his life when he returns the capital he stole. Without the interest due on it for the years he had it.
News just in!! Its official all form of communication has been dealt with by a Leprechaun and its through the Leprechaun Swinney obtains his information. When Swinney was asked about the validity of the Leprechaun information Swinney replied he’s a Celtic brother all line’s are open other than Operation Branchform which has been closed.
Good to see you back and on fire again Stuart (in the good way, not in that John Swinney way you mentioned in your interview). Here’s hoping we can get Sturgeon re-investigated/charged with fraud. That would make my day.
Murrell could not have “stolen” the fund, it was missing before he started stealing anything more than a few grand.
The fact that Murrell then stole money was nothing to do with the original issue other than constant attempts by Swinney and Sturgeon to try and use it as a convenient smokescreen.
« One of the most remarkable legal consultations in the history of Western jurisprudence: In the winter of 1628-9, in an Ireland riven by conflict, where the old order was being transformed, two men met in a castle near the flooded banks of the river Shannon, to discuss the finer points of a law enacted 930 years before. It is impossible to find anything comparable, and very difficult to even suggest a similar hypothetical scenario. This consultation is an extraordinary testament to the social memory of Gaelic society over a period of nigh on a thousand years. That it concerned a law for the protection of non-combatants and … women in particular, makes it all the more remarkable. (James W. Houlihan, ‘Adomnán’s Lex Innocentium and the Laws of War’, Dublin, 2020, page 172) »
(English footnote on page 125 of ‘ÉIGSE na BRUISÉILE’, Aogán Ó hIarlaithe a chuir in eagar, Cló Lováin, Leabhar Breac, 2025)
An interesting read:
link to unherd.com
Some nations thrive. Others wither. The wise put aside their prejudices and endeavour to find out what it is that makes the difference.
Especially if the wise are citizens of Scotland, a nation that most here accept is withering.
Another interesting article from Robin McAlpine about the Murrell case. He writes about:
“the delays that pushed an open-and-shut case way past the Scottish election. That bothers me a lot. It does.”
In better countries than Scotland, the people would be on the streets, demanding that the May HR election be declared null and void, and re-run.
Fuck, in better countries than Scotland, the MSPs would be leading the demand. Even the ones who had just been voted in with thumping majorities.
Too wee, too poor, too stupid? The jury is still out.
Too corrupt? The jury is unanimous. Guilty!
He certainly doesn’t miss and hit the wall.
Reading Robin’s latest makes the SNP appear even more contemptible, if it were possible.
There are a few questions with Robin’s analysis:
First, there is no ‘honour’ or ‘democracy’ in colonial rule.
He wants a public inquiry – by colonial institutions?
Into a national party that has already been ‘co-opted by colonialism’?
Postcolonial theory suggests the native intellectual is the last tae figure things oot, and to see colonialism for what it is.
Robin proves that.
link to salvo.scot
Of course, Alf, it is possible that an inquiry would shed light on “Scotland’s colonised condition”.
Then again, it’s possible it would show that claim to be a load of baloney.
As per usual though, you’ve covered all bases in order to guarantee your assessment matches your starting assumptions.
Startling that you yourself rule out the “native intellectual”, when you forever wang oan that “native intellectuals” are excluded from Scotland’s colonised establishment.
What should we expect from somebody claiming that Scotland is both a colonial dependency and a post-colonial dependency at the same time?
Hatey, the difficulty arises in particular for what we might term the ‘more assimilated’ native intellectual, i.e. those who believe that the colonizer culture, values, language etc are superior to that of the native.
Of course, native intellectuals in a colonial environment will all be expected to be culturally assimilated, to a greater or lesser extent. Even me! But at least I understand the process, most do not.
Or, in scientific terms, those subject to ‘higher levels of Appropriated Racial Oppression’:
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
“believe that the colonizer culture, values, language etc are superior to that of the native”
Hmmm. Bojo ejected for enjoying a glass of wine in company.
Starmer soon to be ejected, in part for pushing through the wrong guy for an important job.
If these are the “coloniser’s values”, then most Scots like them.
If we had adopted the “coloniser’s values”, Sturgeon would have been arrested in office, Yousaf would never have dishonoured our history books, and Swinney would now be putting his personal affairs in order, in anticipation of the midnight chap on the door.
“the “coloniser’s values””
‘Values’ are essentially what is deemed to be significant to a culture/people.
The coloniser’s values are therefore whatever is deemed to be significant to the coloniser.
The most important value to the coloniser is survival of the ‘nation’, i.e. Britain, ‘or if you like’ England.
Included among the colonisers values is ‘the crushing of the colonized’ (Memmi), e.g. Scots, etc etc etc.
There are of course ‘no human values’ in colonialism (Cesaire).
Which implies that colonialism will ‘do pretty much anything it wants’ in order ‘to keep the racket going’ (Elkins).
But as colonialism ‘is a crime against humanity’ (UN);
This means that the coloniser is a criminal.
Alf,
I guess the irony of your post dissing the coloniser’s values, hoaching with quotes, none of which are from Scots, eludes you.
I have to say, whilst I generally don’t see your “Scotland as colony” thesis to bear much congruence with reality, I could respect it more if it sprung from a genuinely indigenous, Scottish line of reasoned logic.
And not from a pick’n’mix ragbag of foreign, imported ideas.
Scotland did used to lead the world in many fields of human endeavour. To see us reduced to scrabbling about for scraps of “wisdom” from the denizens of third-world shitholes sticks in my craw.
“a genuinely indigenous, Scottish line of reasoned logic”
Here it is Hatey:
link to cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com
Here’s a link to aforresaid McAlpine article ; link to robinmcalpine.org
The apparent lack of momentum on the stolen indyref fund can almost entirely be attributed to the BBC and its Scotland branch refusing to run with the story in any serious way. We can only guess why they aren’t pressing the issue; the criminality couldn’t be clearer.
This is why freedom of the press matters so much, especially to western leaders; once a country allows foreigners control over its media and news agencies, those foreigners have massive influence over public opinion and politics in that country.
For Scotland that means Project Fear forever. They didn’t switch it off after the referendum, as most of you know.
I know people who indulge in all sorts of conspiracy theories, about vaccines, war, Kennedy, aliens, chemtrails, Scotland, everything, they couldn’t be more anti-establishment, and the first place they go for confirmation when a story breaks is the BBC.
I don’t even trust those Trusted News Network bastards to tell me the weather forecast.
“once a country allows foreigners control over its media and news agencies”
As I’m forever hearing and reading how most people get their news from social media and other online sources these days, I think you’re missing something obvious.
The trick is to use a number of sources with different biases. Left wing, right wing, progressive, regressive, conservative, socialist. Read them all – the truth lies somewhere in between all the extremes.
Of course, that’s a lot of time and work, which is why most just mindlessly watch their favourite sport on Sky.
Incidentally, how do your think an SNP-controlled news agency would have covered the Murrell scandal? That would be headquartered in Scotland and staffed by Scots, right?
Robin McAlpine’s latest article isn’t all that interesting.
Its final paragraph reads;
“Trust in democracy is hanging by a thread… etc etc.”
That thread snapped a long, long time ago, Mr McAlpine.
He calls for a public inquiry into the behaviour of the SNP.
That alone tells me he is clueless as to the nature of Scotland’s real problem and – like everybody else, it seems – is focused on the symptoms not the disease.
Who would lead such a public inquiry in colonised Scotland, anyway?
It would be like asking Al Capone to investigate one of his bootlegging operations for evidence of criminality.
I find it easy to understand that Scotland is run by a criminal gang in the form of imperial England… the evidence (centuries of it) is scattered all over Scotland, but is especially concentrated in Scotland’s Government, public institutions and judiciary.
Why can’t Scotland’s intelligentsia – her intellectuals, academics, scholars and literati – not see the obvious?
P.T. Barnum once said, when asked for his thoughts on the nature of genius, that genius is the ability to see what has always been lying around just waiting to be seen.
Barnum also said, “Clowns are the pegs on which the circus is hung.“
Well, it seems to me that Scotland’s politicians are the pegs on which Westminster’s colonial circus is hung.
Scotland… the biggest clown show on Earth.
“Who would lead such a public inquiry in colonised Scotland, anyway?”
That’s right, Northy.
Give up afore the jannie has even found the keys to the shed where the first hurdle is kept.
The desperation is showing Northy. How long are you going to cling to this? For ten years you all blamed someone else while the Trannys pished on the country. You have stupidly supported your own demise. There’s nothing easier than winding up a Nasty! and get them to lick their own shit and enjoy it at the same time.
“… get them to lick their own shit and enjoy it…”
What a disgusting and childish metaphor… it fits you well.
It’s a projection, of course, since you are never done wrapping your foul tongue (a product of your foul mind, no doubt) around your colonial master’s ‘droppings’ and regurgitating them here.
Anyway… whatever point you were trying to make with that comment is lost in the stench of your repugnant imagery.
Our self-identifying, 1,000 year old, space traveling Pict accuses you of childishness, Mark.
I hope you’re listening.
Aye, I’m minded to agree with that Northcode. It seems to me that there are too many supposedly pro-returning Scotland to self-governance names a bit too preoccupied focusing on the state of things in the current constitutional setup, with little if any time or effort spent on actually identifying and nurturing the seeds we need to grow to actually begin to change pretty much everything these big indy stalwarts supposedly purport to want.
I’m no longer interested in interacting with wilfully low knowledge idiots about their latest gripes which are always about whatever is currently being fed to them by MSM or trending on Arsebook.
The dumb arses can’t even apply themselves to maintain or fix their lawnmowers; The most simple of things… yet somehow they want me to believe they have applied themselves in deep study and are incredibly up the curve on complex policies such as economics, energy, and migration.
You just can’t discuss anything in a serious capacity with someone that has a brain in their napper with a critical thought level akin to that of a tin of spam hooked up to a discharged AA battery.
I agreed with you Willie right up until your united Ireland assumption.
I see it this way…
A unified Ireland will see the worst of the knuckle dragging, mouth breathing, Rangers supporting, bigoted Yoons up sticks and move to Scotland, waving their Union Flags all the way.
In 2014 they marched along Princes Street looking like a mutated bunch of nutcrackers.
Should they arrive en masse from Ulster, any sign of Indy and they’ll be burning down Princess Street. It’s just what they do.
Hmm, more on planet Armageddon.
link to robinmcalpine.org
So is the perceived lack of further progress on climate action actually because it just isn’t possible to reduce CO2 emissions much further without drastically altering the way humans exist within our society.
Said it before and I’ll say it again. For all those aspiring to NetZero horseshit and similarly unlikely to be delivered narratives on ways of existing… Try getting up in the morning and see just how far you get into your day before you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution to the issue that concerns you so much.
Because it is highly likely you won’t even get past yer breakfast of imported produce, and never mind all the servers using colossal amounts of power to store all the keystrokes you make on t’internet, and not forgetting those flights for your foreign holiday…
So complain about Scotland not meeting some pie in the sky target, but even if it did, all it would mean is we’ve jist offset our emissions to some other place on the planet and given those places the jobs and resultant boosts to their economies, and then required huge fuel burning ships to deliver the produce to us.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my own fossil fuel consumption, recycling, etc.
Then I listen to the news to hear about the latest burning refinery, pipeline, tank farm, etc.
And I realise I’m gonna have to up the pace in compensation.
By about a sestercecillian percent.
You raise some good points, Bob, but how else are we to sweep the Arabic chanters and their tea-towel toting sympathisers from our streets?
“The Scottish Government is very mildly celebrating what is in effect the closure of Grangemouth”
No shit Sherlock, er, Robin!
Doesn’t stop the usual suspects from coming on here and blaming it all on the English, though.
We should take a poll on how many readers are enjoying the eye-watering increases in their bills arising from what Robin terms the “low-hanging fruit”.
That would help us gauge the level of support for the next phase – all the really difficult and fantastically expensive stuff ScotGov has been putting off until last.
To use Brig Gen Sir Frank Kitson’s expression the SNP are a ” counter gang ” And Kitson knew a thing or two about killing independence movements in the British colonies.
With Salmond at the head of a hugely successful independence movement the SNP had to be stopped. 2014 was too close and it could not be allowed to happen again.
And so after Salmond stood down the machine had to be turned and turned it was from an independence party to an anti independence party masquerading as an independence party. And so, with a few compromised individuals the party was turned.
But then Mr Salmond was going to come back. And so, with the active support of the compromised and the dark hand of the arms of the state Salmond an attempt was made to take Salmond out on trumped up charges. People like Mark Hirst, Craig Murray and others were viciously pursued as well.
It is all part of the game plan. It is how it works. And make no mistake by bribe or by blackmail people can be turned and they were.
And so success. An SNP uncommitted to independence. A trojan horse delivering the silent poison. So no surprise then that later when the clique of control got itself into difficulty the long delayed show trial of the patsy Murrell was played out.
But not played out too fast because the SNP, or should I say the desire for independence has not gone. Not by a long shot. Support for independence sits at over 50% despite there being no mechanism to deliver it.
But the British state plays other cards too. The huge influx of southern Brits relocating to Scotland. The diminution of Scots law and other organs and emblems of statehood. The stripping out of natural resources into corporate hands. The diminution of culture.
Its the process used against the North American Indians but now without the beads. Or as in Tasmania the eradication of the native aboriginals. It is truly that bad and many of the people know it – and have done since the start of North Sea Oil and the McCrone report.
( But at least back then Scots built the rigs that worked the North Sea – but where do our resource raiders procure their kit now – ships from Turkey, wind farm legs from Dubai or China, steel from Korea or China and so on – but at leas there are some hospitality jobs in McDonalds – eh?)
Anyway. all our resources, oil, gas, hydro, wind power, aggregate extraction, sea estate for international fish farming that causes huge environmental damage, forestry and much more, all of no benefit to the local caledonian aboriginal
So no surprise then that the SNP can do what they like. Take £667,00 from some hapless saps wanting to contribute to funding an independence referendum Disarmed under false pretences its all part of the plan.
But as I say the desire for independence despite all the attempts to deny it, is strong at over fifty percent and that is despite the huge influx of southern Brit plantation.
Interesting too how time may be running out for the Brits as they default of the border poll promised under the Good Friday Agreement. Unification of Ireland despite the British resistance is coming and it could well be the midwife for Scottish independence.
Willie
Well put.
Willie, thank you for your perspective and clear vision.
The unification of a third world lacky up to it’s eyes in debt. The Irish are so happy with the thought of unification that they are protesting against their own government. Their country is overrun with tens of thousands of dangerous unknowns. They will pay off their national debt in about 50 years. Yes can’t wait for that.
Give it up, Mark.
There’s no wind blows around Irish coasts.
And even if it did, there’s no way to export free electricity under the sea to foreign customers 40 miles away.
So you see, compared to us, the Irish are fecked.
That must be why thousands of Irish have come to Scotland Hatey. Things are so good they leave. Scotland is next. If we thought the world was looking just give it a few months.
The net national debt of Ireland at the end of 2025 was 22% of GDP and expected to rise to around 32% of GDP at end of 2026. So far in 2026 the net national debt per Irish person was 38,460 euros, around £33.000.
The net national debt of the UK so far in 2026, excluding public sector banks, is 94.2 % of GDP. The net national debt per person in the UK in 2026 is £43,000.
In 2025, UK GDP growth was 1.4%. In Ireland it was 12.3%.
GDP per capita,2025, for UK was $57,546. For Ireland it was $132,659.
This is from 2017, so way out of date (particularly given advent of AI), but nonetheless…
PART 1
77 Brigade, the British Army’s online media ‘PsyOps’ unit, is struggling to attract trolls to its ranks despite a two-year recruitment drive, Ministry of Defense figures indicate.
The ‘unit’ has a target size of 448, of which 182 are intended to be full-time soldiers, sailors and airmen, and 266 part-time reservists. However, as of December 31, 2016 it was home to a mere 276 cyber warriors, meaning the unit was undermanned by just under 40 percent. Of the 276, 123 were reservists, meaning the Brigade has a shortfall of 29 regulars and 143 reserves. Over 2016, just 125 soldiers were recruited to, or posted into it from elsewhere in the army.
The target size of 448 in itself represents a significant reduction of its originally-stated goal. In the midst of its recruitment blitz, 77 Brigade was envisioned as an “operational body of 1,500-2,000.” Around 42% of this total were to be reserve “weekend warriors.”
Formerly known as the Security Assistance Group, the unit was rebranded to 77 Brigade in 2015, the new name deliberately invoking Major-General Orde Wingate’s Indian 77th Infantry Brigade long-range penetration unit, which fought behind enemy lines in the Asia-Pacific theatre of World War Two. It was an effective merger of the Army’s Media Operations Group, 15 Psychological Operations Group, Security Capacity Building Team and Military Stabilization and Support Group.
The group, it was said, was set up in response to similar efforts by terror groups and ‘hostile’ states, such as Daesh, which have used social media and online campaigns to promote their propaganda, subvert mainstream media reporting and attract new recruits. Moreover, there are suggestions the unit is tasked with destabilizing and infiltrating opposition groups within and without the UK’s borders.
77 Brigade is split into six separate ‘columns’, with the fifth column designated as the media operations unit. This is arguably an inside joke, referencing the phrase ‘fifth column’ coined by Emilio Mola, a nationalist general during the Spanish Civil War.
He told a journalist in 1936 that four columns of his troops would attack Madrid from the outside, while a “quinta columna” of covert supporters inside the city would undermine the Republican government internally. Ernest Hemingway subsequently used it in the title of a 1938 book; ‘The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories.’
A spokesperson for the UK Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the army was “pleased” with the rate of growth of the Brigade.
“It is attracting trained personnel of the right knowledge, skill and experience required for its roles. The shortfall in the reserve numbers is partly due to the recent increase in liability, but is, in the main, due to the fact 77 Brigade is a new formation and it takes time for this capability to be built up,” they added.
Overtime rates have trebled since 2017.
So it’s now quite difficult to get on the weekend rota.
“Beggan”.
The Site Prick.
“Chas.”
Adrian.
“Captain caveman”.
77th recruitment drive hasn’t gone too well so far, eh?
Smart-arsed half-educated sophistry merchants all.
Maybe they’ll need to offer higher wages?
Correct me if I’m wrong Northy but didn’t you claim to have taken an oath to the crown?
Look what I found!
‘The British Army recruits and Officer Cadets swear an oath of allegiance to the King, which is a formal promise to be loyal to the monarch and his successors. This oath is a significant moment in the recruitment process, marking the commitment of new soldiers to the King and the British Armed Forces. The oath is a testament to the enduring tradition of loyalty to the Crown and the commitment to uphold the values and principles of the British Army.’
Discovering that the English crown’s claim to be the lawful ruler of Scotland is a lie immediately invalidates any oath sworn to it by Scottish soldiers.
In other words… oaths bind only when the authority remains worthy of obedience.
Also, if the political master:
…then the oath is morally void.
Of course, none of this applies to me… for I am a thousand-year-old, space voyaging Pict from another world.
The notion that I would swear some meaningless oath of allegiance to any group or organisation comprised of human beings let alone the English crown is laughable.
Wally Walrus wakes!
Actually, it’s another 5-letter word that preserves the alliteration.
You keep your flapping flippers above the table, James.
We all ken fit ye’re like.
“oaths bind only when the authority remains worthy of obedience”
Looks like Northy has worked out for himself the self-justification of agricultural motive units since time began.
Too bad Quisling beat you to it, Northy. Your one chance to stamp your name on history is gone for ever.
PART 2
OUR RECRUITING PROCESS
As a result of the unique role of the Brigade, the demands and requirements of individuals we are looking for maybe significantly different to other parts of the Army.
Do you have any of these skills?
We are looking for a whole range of business skills that can be used within the Brigade to bring useful skills and knowledge to the team.
• Influencer – An individual whose expertise is in activities that contribute to the changing or maintaining of another’s attitudes and/or behaviours.
• Civil Affairs – An individual who can provide an effective link and enhance the relationship between military forces and civilian authorities in circumstances ranging from conflict and crisis to disaster relief. They should also have the knowledge, skill and experience to identify critical requirements needed by local citizens in crisis situations and understand how to blend civilian and military means of delivering solutions to those needs. They should be able to provide advice to a military commander on non-military factors affecting his planning.
• Media – An individual whose expertise is in the design, production, or delivery of a message, story or imagery.
• Capacity Builder – A person who understands change requirements and development to improve an organisation and people within it.
• Generalists – An individual who has a broad knowledge of marketing, advertising, media production, civil affairs and stabilisation techniques.
• Photographers
• Videographers
• Content creatives
• Digital content experts
• Social media experts
77th Brigade run a series of briefing and assessments days aimed at the Regular, Army Reserve and civilians applicants.
The assessments allow us to tell potential applicants what we are looking for and select suitable individuals who may have skills the Brigade needs to operate in the future.
How we select individuals
We do this using the following approach:
• Briefings on the background and future role of the Brigade
• A series of tests:
• Can the individual cope with uncertainty
• Emotional intelligence
• Problem solving
• Study of individuals approach to problems with unorthodox solutions
• Ability to deal with complex situations and scenarios
• Opportunity to offer a personalised view of what they can bring to the Brigade
• Interviews
Before attendance at an assessment you will be sent a briefing pack which will include pre-work to complete.
Following completion of the assessment day you will be notified whether you have been assessed as suitable to join 77th Brigade.
This does not automatically select you for a place in the Brigade. This is done via the normal applications to join the Army or if already serving via the selection board processes.
———
Several dumping comments on Wings fit exactly in the framework which you mention, Fearghas. Useful to have the advertisement as a reference source to assess comments.
Thank you.
Great comment, Jay.
Have you read the article at the top of the page? Would you agree that has 77th Brigade’s fingerprints on every single line?
Well said Willie.
For an example of the “resource raiders” in action, watch the documentary embedded in Grousebeater’s site
link to grousebeater.wordpress.com
Alf Baird,
At the moment you seem to be undergoing the same treatment of denial and suppression as Stu did,
No unionist likes to be confronted with the obvious,
Even if the evidence is there,
It will all come out in the wash with Hatey’s sunlight soap and only the “guff” will remain of no Such treaty with Scotland. Meanwhile the given treatment for someone calling something out is the same as Stu first received when he questioned SNP missing money reality,
Did yo get your I-pad yet? Where’s the Rubble-land flag today?
Brandeis was not talking about soap.
“Brandeis made his famous statement that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants” in a 1913 Harper’s Weekly article, entitled “What Publicity Can Do.” But it was an image that had been in his mind for decades. Twenty years earlier, in a letter to his fiancé, Brandeis had expressed an interest in writing a “a sort of companion piece” to his influential article on “The Right to Privacy,” but this time he would focus on “The Duty of Publicity.” He had been thinking, he wrote, “about the wickedness of people shielding wrongdoers & passing them off (or at least allowing them to pass themselves off) as honest men.” He then proposed a remedy:
If the broad light of day could be let in upon men’s actions, it would purify them as the sun disinfects.
source: link to sunlightfoundation.com
The “wickedness of people shielding wrongdoers” – that has a ring to it
Willie,
You speak wise words of wisdom.
Well said Willie. I couldn’t agree more.
Has anyone asked Swinney whether the missing £460,000 and £660,000 are mutually exclusive ? If they are then he needs to clarify where they respectively came from – subscriptions, short money or UK government/Barnett formula grants ? And if they aren’t, where is the difference ? We know that the £60,000 allowed in the plea deal was largely used for what would normally be more likely be for a female user, but the “missing” £200,000 could have been used to buy a second motorhome for use in London. No wonder Swinney doesn’t want another investigation because he obviously doesn’t know the answer.
Exactly.
In addition, as no second referendum has yet been held, a ring-fenced £660,000 carefully invested for several years might well have doubled itself by now.
At the very least, with the finest economic minds of the SNP focused on the problem, we might have hoped they could have shown us a wee example of how an Independent Scotland would prosper:
“Look at this Scotland, we’ve doubled our money in 8 years. Now let us double your money too”
Said no SNP spokes-pronoun, ever.